CAA = 10% off at The GAP

As I mentioned in my previous post, my friend and I went tent shopping recently. Our last stop was at Vaughn Mills mall. While there we also perused many of the other retail stores.

Normally I don't like doing that because I always end up seeing something I want. That happened again at The GAP. There were a pair of light shorts and light pants great for summer hiking.

The shorts were regular $40 with a 60% off discount and the pants $55 with a 40% off discount. I bought 2 pairs of shorts for $16 each (after the discount) and one pair of pants for $33 (after the discount).

While standing in line to pay I noticed a customer ahead of me who had her CAA card out at the cash. She presented it to the cashier for some sort of discount I assumed.

When it was my turn I asked what it was about. The cashier said that if you show your CAA card you receive an extra 10% off your purchase which is great.

What wasn't great was that I didn't bring my CAA card. Since I didn't drive I brought my slimmed down wallet with my three basic cards - driver's licence, health card and VISA card.

I asked if I could come back with my CAA card later and still receive the discount. The girl said, yes. So I did that the following Monday and received a further $7.35 savings.

The lady behind me noticed and asked what it was all about. When she found out you could save an extra 10% with your CAA card she produced hers too.

So, now you know.

Stranded on the 401

I had just started my route on Wednesday morning after loading up my work truck with the day's deliveries. I drive an old GMC Savana 1500 cargo van with over 530,000 kilometres on it. Yes, over 530.000 kilometres... you heard right. It runs. Barely.

Anyway, after driving a short distance north up the Don Valley Parkway, I take the 401 westbound ramp heading towards Mississauga.

It's shortly thereafter I notice a subtle difference in the truck. There are around three instances in near succession where it seems like the power fades just slightly. It was barely noticeable, but it's there. I don't know quite what to make of it.

It was also about that time I noticed the check engine light blinking. It's been on ever since I started driving the van (which has been around two years now), but I'd never seen it blinking before. It was somewhat disconcerting.

I decided, after I make my first stop in Mississauga, I'll contact Sid and let him know. In the meantime I thought it best to drive in the right lane beside the shoulder. Just in case.

Well, that turned out to be a wise, if not potentially lifesaving, decision. Because not long after passing Highway 427 the van lost power. It just faded and died. If I had been in one of the middle lanes who knows what would have happened?

Luckily I was able to pull off onto the shoulder before losing all power. The steering began stiffening at one point, but, luckily, I was able to stop before anything might have happened to the brakes.

Now I was stuck on the shoulder of the 401 express lanes with 18-wheelers thundering by at 120 km/h. Every time a vehicle sped by the van would shake. It was like sitting on a roller coaster. Only on the side of the road. And all the while being at risk of being crushed like a tiny insect at any moment by a passing truck. Greeeaat.

To top it off we were in the midst of the second polar vortex this month. The daytime high was only around -15C. So, now I'm sitting on a rickety roller coaster on the side of the highway filled with ice cubes.

I texted Sid first. Just to let him know what was going on. I waited a minute or two, but got no response. So I figured I'd better call CAA or else I'd be waiting there forever.

Since it had been so cold out over the past few days, CAA had been inundated with calls. I believe they received two to three times as many calls as normal. Most of them for dead batteries (like mine a couple of weeks ago).

I tried their local number first. The phone actually started ringing my first try. I got their automated message saying I was in line waiting for an operator to answer. Then it went dead. So I called back. Again. And again. And again. And again.

I couldn't get through no matter how many times I tried. I got various messages and one or twice I got a busy signal. But, no matter how many times I tried, I got nothing.

It was then I tried their 1-800 number for out of town calls. I got through on the first try. But, again, that was just to their recorded message saying I was in line and my call would be answered in sequence. All the while I'm huddled in the van deathly afraid of a speeding vehicle plowing into the back of me and turning me into instant road kill.

The wait was excruciatingly long. I just checked my phone and the call log says the phone call was over 24 minutes long. I'm sure the majority of it was just waiting for them to answer.

In the meantime I'm sitting there nervously looking at traffic coming from behind in the driver's side mirror. At one point I notice a minivan drifting over the white line dividing the live lane from the shoulder. He's coming on fast so I honk my horn. I'm helpless... what else can I do? Now I don't know if he corrected himself on his own or if he took notice of the horn, but whatever the case, he drove back into his lane. Idiot.

While I was waiting on hold a random tow truck driver pulled up. He asked me what was wrong and I told him. I mention I'm on hold waiting for the CAA operator to pick up. He asks if I want a tow. He can take me to Sid's garage (Stellar Auto) for $200 cash flat rate. Normally it would be $300, he says.

He tells me, CAA will reimburse me for the cost. I'm not sure if I should trust him or not. But, I'm very inclined to take him up on his offer because I don't feel like tempting fate by waiting there much longer.

While waiting in his heated truck (which is parked on the shoulder in front of the van) he presses me by saying in this weather a CAA truck won't come for at least two or three hours. In normal circumstances he'd probably be right. But, I'm sure once they know of my perilous situation they will send a tow truck ASAP.

Finally I get through to the operator and explain what's going on. He tells me since I'm sitting on the shoulder of a highway he'll make me a top priority. He says a tow truck will be there in less than half an hour.

The tow truck driver is still trying to convince me to let him tow me, but I reluctantly decline. I get back out and go sit in my cold van and he drives off. I hope I haven't made a foolish decision.

The CAA driver doesn't take too long. Maybe 20 or 30 minutes I'm guessing. He has one of those flatbed trucks. After about 10 minutes we're all hooked up and ready to go. I'm so happy to be off the highway and safe again.

We drive to a garage called T&S Auto out in Etobicoke. Sid used to do business with them before he relocated his company. I meet him there and we transfer all the towels out of the Savana and cram them into his Honda Odyssey so we can deliver them.

What a way to start the day.

Dead Battery - Part II

After the dead battery debacle at my sister's place I decided I would go to Canadian Tire to replace the battery on Saturday when the weather warmed up. I didn't want to take a chance in going out when it was too cold and getting stuck again.

I checked the prices and availability of batteries that would fit my car on Canadian Tire's website. They had some starting at around $110 at the Laird and Eglinton location which was closest to me. I was planning to go there and buy one and have them install it. I figured it would be relatively simple to install and shouldn't cost much more.

I went down to my car which was in the parking garage early Saturday afternoon. Maybe around 1:00 p.m. To my disappointment my car wouldn't start. Again.

Instead of calling CAA to make an appointment I thought I'd try doing it online because I thought it might be faster. Well, it probably wasn't. I had to input so much information that it actually took a fair amount of time.

I typed in my location, my year, make and model of car. Instead of requesting a boost I thought I'd purchase a battery from them. My father had done that in the past and was charged about $150 in total. Even though I thought it would cost more to go with CAA I figured it would be easiest. Just have them come and change the battery and get it over with.

After I had entered all the relevant information I was notified that my wait would be 300 minutes (or 5 hours). Nothing left to do but wait. Thankfully Naomi and Markus decided to have lunch at Echo and invited me along. I actually had had a hankering for sushi and was looking to go. So that would help me kill the time.

Lunch was good. I didn't overeat like I sometimes do. I believe I got back shortly after 3:00. To my surprise the CAA driver called to say he was at my condo not long after. We went down to my car and he proceeded to assess the battery. I'm not sure what he was doing.

He confirmed I needed a new one, which I already new. He told me it would be $155 for the battery and to have it installed which was fine with me. He then checked the back of his truck which had quite a few different batteries then discovered he didn't have one that would fit my car. So, after all that, he gave me a boost and I drove over to Canadian Tire.

But, of course, now it was late in the day and as I feared Canadian Tire wouldn't be able to work on my car today and I would have to return next morning. On top of that I found the battery was $110 which was the same price as stated online. But, to have it installed would cost around $50 more. I believe the total price (I'm assuming after tax) would be $177. More than CAA and more trouble.

You would have figured that since I told them my year, make and model CAA would have sent someone with a battery that would have actually fit my car. I'm not too happy about that.

Deep Freeze = Dead Battery

Not my photo.

Okay, I have to admit it... it probably was my fault. I probably should have replaced my car battery sooner, but I didn't. My car wasn't starting cleanly, but it was still starting. That was until the recent deep freeze we had here in Toronto.

The first sign of trouble was when I was leaving work on Thursday. My car had been sitting outside in the cold all day. The engine barely turned over. I thought to myself, should I head home (to my warm condo garage) or should I go over to my sister's place for dinner like I promised my mother. I made the wrong decision and went over to my sister's house.

The temperature that evening dropped even more. After hanging out at my sister's for a few hours I decided to leave. My car had other ideas.

I called my parents who live nearby and my dad came over with the jumper cables to try and give my car a boost. If the battery was dead I was sure it would work.

We had to rearrange my car on the driveway so it would be face to face with my father's car which we were going to use to charge mine. I put mine in neutral and pushed it a few feet so my father could pass by and turn his car around.

After we were both positioned properly we hooked the booster cables up and I cranked the ignition. Nothing. It was the same as before. It was like we didn't even hook the cables up. I was dumbfounded. What could it be?

We struggled mightily to push my car out onto the street so my dad could leave to go home. It was freezing cold out and really slippery. Hard to get traction with your boots. It made pushing that much harder.

I called CAA next. It was about 10:00 p.m. by now. According to the news they had been inundated with calls due to the weather. I was put on hold for a long time.

When I finally got through I told the operator the problem. I mentioned it was probably the battery, but I thought it also could be something else. So I requested a tow truck instead of the guy who just comes to charge batteries.

I also had to think about where to take my car if it needed to be towed. The closest mechanic I know is by Victoria Park and Eglinton, close to where I work. It's the place my boss takes the work delivery vehicles to get serviced.

But, I know many places can't do diagnostics on my particular vehicle if that's what it needs. If that were the case I would need to get towed to Courtesy Chevrolet on the Queensway near Sherway Gardens. It's much further, by they're the only place that has the particular software to do an engine check for my car.

Anyway the CAA operator told me I could expect the tow truck driver to come by by 1:30 a.m. (at the latest I assumed).

Next I called my parents. I asked my dad if I could borrow the car in case I did need the tow to the mechanic's. I would need a way to get back home late at night. I said to leave the car key by the door and I would pick them up if needed. Then I settled down with a book at my sister's place for the wait.

Well, 1:30 a.m. came and went. So did 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. I knew they were busy and that they were prioritizing calls for people who were stuck outside in the bitter cold first. I guess they knew I was waiting inside so I was probably bumped down on the list.

Now I was bunked on the narrow sofa in my sister's living room. I had put the book away long ago and was trying to catch some Zzzz's. I had put my cell phone which was at hand ready for the call on the coffee table and decided I should try to get some sleep. I thought they had forgotten about me and decided I would call them back in the morning. It would be better then because the garage would actually be open and I wouldn't have to leave my car there and come back again. And public transit would be running if I needed to get back home.

To my surprise I got a call at around 5:15 a.m. (I'm guessing... I was still a bit groggy when I answered). I believe it was an automated message from CAA saying they were sorry about the delay and that the tow truck driver would be around in 45. I was to be ready for his arrival at that time with my CAA membership card.

I think the driver arrived about 6:00 a.m. He hooked up his booster cables and I tried the engine. Again, nothing. I was so disappointed. But, I wasn't totally unprepared for that result. After a less than restful night I thought it would be a few more hours before I'd be able to return home to sleep.

The driver told me to go wait inside my sister's place for 10 minutes. He wanted to give the battery some more time to recharge. So I went inside fully expecting to come out 10 minutes later and drive to the mechanic's.

When I reemerged 10 minutes later I was totally shocked to see exhaust fumes coming out of the back of my car. The tow truck driver had managed to resurrect it. I was so happy.

I gave him a wave as he drove off and, after a minute or two of letting my car warm up, I left for home as well.

Next stop Canadian Tire for a new battery.